Lapsed Feb 28, 2024 on the fee record · High confidence
20-year base term ended Nov 1, 2026
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Filed Nov 1, 2006 as application 11/555,536 · Granted Feb 28, 2012
Base term, 20 years from filing, plus 1432 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Lapsed Feb 28, 2024
2006
2030
Clock starts
Nov 1, 2006
Nov 1, 2006
No longer in force
Feb 28, 2024
Feb 28, 2024
Granted
Feb 28, 2012
Feb 28, 2012
Term would have run to
Oct 3, 2030
Oct 3, 2030
base term
patent term adjustment
after the term ends
fee events
Updated Nov 14, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 14, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) · how we know
1,432
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
2 of 3
Maintenance fees paid
Three maintenance fees fall due, at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years from grant. This counts the ones the record shows paid.
4
Family applications on record here
Applications sharing this one's continuity chain whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
Its term would have run to Oct 3, 2030: its 20-year base term plus 1432 days of term adjustment for prosecution delay. Confidence: High. from the record
How we calculated this date
One row per rule, each showing its own input and what it did to the date. A step we could not verify says so instead of resolving itself.
| Step | Input | Date after this step | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base term, 20 years from filing | Clock starts Nov 1, 2006, when this application, 11/555,536, was filed | Nov 1, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1432 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Oct 3, 2030 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | None on record | no cap applied | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | lapsed Feb 28, 2024 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Feb 28, 2024 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,126,128 | this patent Feb 2024 | Feb 2024 |
| US 9,124,691 | In force Mar 2028 | Mar 2028 |
| US 10,303,858 | In force Nov 2027 | Nov 2027 |
| US 11,354,385 | In force Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
The applications whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
Assignments
Assignment documents as recorded at the USPTO, oldest first, with the reel and frame each was recorded at. A recorded assignment is a filed document, not a statement of current ownership, and the absence of a later one is not evidence that the last one still stands.
| Recorded | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2, 2007 Reel 18705, frame 37 | O'neil, Douglas R.; Hicks Iii, John Alson | BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 2, 2007 Reel 18751, frame 824 | O'neil, Douglas R.; Hicks, John Alson, III | BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 8, 2009 Reel 22655, frame 864 | AT&T Delaware Intellectual Property, Inc., F/K/A AT&T BLS Intellectual Property, Inc., F/K/A AT&T Intellectual Property, Inc., F/K/A BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation | AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
Sources
Google Patents · The patent document at USPTO · Assignment records at USPTO
USPTO account required: This application in Patent Center · USPTO's maintenance fee lookup
Maintenance fee events come from USPTO's own fee records. Its fee lookup asks for the patent number and the application number.
Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.
Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
Note
The 1432 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
296
later US patents cite this one
That is top 5% of utility patents granted in 2012 in our data, the only group it is compared against.
How we rank
Every date shows its work: the base term, any term adjustment or extension, any disclaimer cap, and the maintenance fee record, each with a confidence tier. How this record was built
Computed patent terms end on the dates shown. Related patents and pending applications may cover overlapping subject matter.